Omen

Well they finally got me - first time ive ever been pulled in the scoob! Was going slightly rapid on the motorway in a nice empty gap in traffic and slowed when i reached the next lot of traffic but checked my mirror and there was plod flying up behind me. Pulled me over and gave me a lecture but becuase it wasnt a proper road traffic they had no camera or vascar etc just their own speedo. Anyway to cut a long story short they said i was going 100+ and said they were doing me a favour by giving me a fixed penatly of 3points and £60 fine. I can take it to court if i want and contest it but say they will then give their evidence which i guess will be the word of the driver and his assistant plod sat next to him, and that could mean a much harsher penatly/fine etc. Dont know if ive been set up here but at the end of the day i know i was going quick so i should prob take it on the chin and be thankful it was only that.

Any legal eagles about??? Can they do me for appearing to be speeding if their speedo aint calibrated etc... I know if they had to do over 100 to catch me up as i was infront but what chance would i have in court?

Think im just going to take the fine and 3 points at the moment.

billythekid

what sort of car were they in?

sti555

the the fine & points mate, the beak always win

No really a bad deal tbh

Yass

It would be easy for me to tell you to go to court and fight the fu*kers, but if I were in your shoes I'd probably accept the 3 points. If you think you may have been doing 100+ you'd be looking at minimum 6 points if not a ban - assuming you were found guilty. That would screw up your insurance as well. I've got 8 points (3 from fixed penalty and 5 for doing 96 on the motorway) on my licence and it increases my premium by about £200. I think that most insurance companies don't penalise you too much for having just 3 points.

Omen

They were in a Volvo.

Ive just got the 3 points i had off my license so a bit pissed about that but like you say i could get a lot worse. I know they would get up in court and say that i was doing well over 100mph without a shadow of a doubt and they had to do 120mph to catch me up so i will probably take the points and fine. I know 3 points from a SP30 dont make any diff to insurance but i think an SP50 which is motorway speeding may! But we shall see!! Suppose i could go do some test quotes online.

Will just have to be more aware of them behind me in future before i press the fun pedal.

billythekid

I dont understand why they did not have VASCAR then?

Sounds odd to me.

Omen

Maybe they did but because i was well infront of them and they were in traffic they couldnt use it. They had a unit in the dash he was messing with but possibly they cocked up!

Maybe i was a bit more lucky than what i thought then eh!

Sureley they would have told me if they had vascar evidence! ??? hmmmm

r32

I'd take the three points, the jugde or magistrate will always side with them and I understand that two policemen can do you for 'estimated speed'.

Saying that and I know its a bit late now, but you got to be a dick to travel at those speeds on the Motorway, with so many unmarked cars about youre just easy money. 80 ish is about it, and its not much fun either, take the Scoob out on the B roads its much more fun. But you gotta be asking to be pulled at mega speeds on the Motorways.

So take the three points and think your self lucky........
Sorry, STEVE........................

AJF

iTrader: (1)

with no offical timing gear you will most likly never get to court as the cps dont have proof that you were speeding because all speedo must read over by a min of 10% and you said they came flying up behind you so i take it they were not able to match your speed to get a very good idea of the speed you were doing. i know because i got let off for doing over 120 on the A2 because the marked police car had no timing gear fitted and to say the speedo is 100% correct is a joke as to many factes can cause the speedo to be out ie tyre wear tyre pressure and the fact all speedos read over

but at the end of the day its your choice and i dont have a lot to lose at the time as i have two driving lincse so i can still drive baned in the uk

Adrian

r32

You could always go see a brief and get proper factual advice of course. Or there are plenty of websites like pepipoo you could go to for information.
You might have been OK with one plod, but with two in the car ..............?

lmsbman

Omen,

Over how long a distance do you think you were speeding? For them to use their speedo as evidence they need to be able to say that they followed you for a half a mile and kept a constant distance between you and themselves. From what you have said on your post this sounds a bit fishy.

Was it daylight or dark? You can be followed from quite some distance behind in the daylight, so that you will never realise that they are there.

Its a tough choice. Do you risk fighting and losing or taking it on the chin. Send me a personal message with more detail if you want more advice.

bluenosewrx

iTrader: (2)

fight them,at least to the pint that they have to disclose all the evidence against you,then if you still have no chance you can still plead guilty then and there.hope you win ,mac

Chris L

There seem to be a few of these threads around at the moment. Perhaps it is time to dispell a few old wives tales. Police cars do not need calibrated speedos. There doesn't need to be two officers in the car (although it helps from an evidence point-of-view) and they don't need timing gear installed in the car. The timing gear and calibrated speedos etc are in effect corroboration of the offence observed by the policeman. This is exactly the same as for mobile speed traps. The offence in theory should be observed by the officer and the gatso / laser gun provides the corroborated evidence.

If, in the OPINION of the officer you were commiting an offence, he can stop you and give you a ticket. In court it will basically come down to your word against his (and his colleague) - as a magistrate - who are you going to believe?

I would take with a large pinch of salt any advice that says this will not goto court. I would be very surprised if it didn't. In this case, 3 points and £60 should be considered getting off lightly. A colleague of mine was done in similar circumstances a few weeks ago on the M4 (estimated av speed of 104mph) - he got a 14 day ban and £500 fine.

Chris

yoza

I got done for speeding by a copper on the beat !

Hard to believe I know, I went to court he was there with the copper he was walking with, they said their piece, I said mine. I got three points and a fine plus solicitors costs.

The coppers said "In my opinion he was travelling well in excess of the speed limit." And their opinion was enough for the JPs...

I was at least doubling the speed limit but thats not the point.

Omen

Cheers for the comments peeps. Ill write back when i have more time after work!

StiX

iTrader: (4)

Also, some insurance companies don't mind about speeding points at all. I am with Liverpool&Victoria and they don't give a stuff.

I have an SP30 and and SP50 - 6 points in total with no additional premium.

Clive the Brave

There is one thing that might get you out of this fix.
It happened to me some years ago and a friend advised me and it worked.

In my case it turned out that on the day of the speeding the Mr. Piggies car estamated the speed I was doing only by reading his speedo. So my brief asked for the calibration cert for the police speedo, I htink it has to be done on a weekly basis. They did not have one for when I got pulled over and I walked after doing 80 in a 40, early morning and clear sky.

If they have the paper work and there's two of them then your stuffed.
Take the points and give them the finger

Good Luck

Chris L

Good point about insurance. My mate at work who had the ban was being quoted around £2800 for his STI 7 after the ban. I told him about Liverpool and Victoria. He was quoted just over a grand (which is what I pay !) - less than his current policy. L&V confirmed that they were not worried about speeding offences, even if they involved a ban. Drink driving / causing death by dangerous driving etc is another matter, but it is nice to see at least one insurance company with a sensible attitude.

Chris

Rewolf

I know that its a bit of a gamble, but I understood that the officers involved had to actually be present in court to give evidence. If they don't show, then you get off.

That said, I don't think that I would rely on this alone, as the whole system is set up against you. No chance to discuss anything without going to court. If you go to court, then the fine is no longer fixed penalty, but is instead related to your ability to pay.

When I went to court 4 years ago because I wanted to explain that I was doing the only safest thing in the situation: 75 in a 60 to get out of the way of an agressive driver, they decided to be lenient and not give the full fine. I should have had about £400 fine + 3 points + admin costs because I earn £30K+, and instead I got £100 + 3 points + costs. This was in the days of £30 fixed penalty fine not the current £60.